Guttmacher Institute

The institute emphasizes its separation from PPFA, citing a 2010 contribution of $75,000 and a 2013 scholarship fund donation of $50,000 as the last times it received funding from its former parent organization. ³ At the same time, Guttmacher supports PPFA, which in turn cites the institute’s studies to promote expanding abortion access. In 2017, a Guttmacher Policy Review report called Planned Parenthood “critical” to the “the nation’s family planning safety net.” ⁴ Planned Parenthood Action then cited the report to argue that PPFA is “not replaceable.” ⁵ Guttmacher also maintains a strategic collaboration with the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF); PPFA and IPPF were both founded by progressive eugenicist Margaret Sanger, and PPFA is an IPPF associate member. ^{6 7}

Guttmacher promotes other left-progressive causes, often connecting them to abortion access. In 2019, the Trump administration implemented a “public charge” immigration restriction, citing “self-sufficiency” as a “basic principle of U.S. immigration law.” ⁸ Guttmacher attacked the policy, saying it would lead to “severe reproductive health consequences,” respectively. ⁹ When Black Lives Matter-aligned demonstrations and riots erupted in 2020, the institute’s board of directors released a statement condemning “systemic, structural, and individual racism” in American society. ¹⁰

History

In 1968, the Planned Parenthood Federation of America launched the Center for Family Planning Program Development. PPFA president Alan F. Guttmacher oversaw the center’s early development, and the center adopted his name as the Guttmacher Institute following his death in 1974. Three years later, the institute incorporated as a separate entity, but remained a “special affiliate” of Planned Parenthood. The formal affiliation ended in 2007, and Planned Parenthood drew down its funding for Guttmacher over the next several years. ¹¹

Reports

The Guttmacher Institute maintains an extensive series of reports on state laws relating to abortion and contraception, as well as sexually transmitted infections, pregnancy, and reproductive health topics.

Abortion

Guttmacher reports on annual abortion numbers and abortion rates. Its numbers for the United States are typically higher the ones published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), mainly because states such as California, Maryland, and New Hampshire do not report their statistics to the federal government. ¹² In 2016, Guttmacher counted approximately 874,100 abortions while the CDC counted 623,421. ^{13 14} In a 2016 international report, the institute estimated 53.6 million abortions in 2014 compared to just over 12.3 million reported by governments worldwide. ^{15 16} For countries with abortion bans or irregular reporting, the report relied on “national representative studies,” not on official statistics. ¹⁷

Of the states that allow abortions, only Georgia and Arizona saw a decrease in abortions between January 2020 and June 2023. Georgia had nearly 5,000 fewer abortions and Arizona had about 1,000 fewer abortions. California, Illinois, and New York saw the largest increases in abortions. California had over 15,000 more, Illinois had over 18,500 more, and New York over 13,500 more in that three-year period. ¹⁸

In addition to tracking abortion statistics, Guttmacher identifies states that ban abortion based on method, trimester, or other factors, as well as states that restrict funding or insurance coverage for abortions. ¹⁹ Some reports specifically target pro-life initiatives. One report singles out states that sell “Choose life” specialty license plates, especially those that use the revenue to promote pro-life causes like funding pregnancy resource centers. ²⁰

A 2007 report takes issue with “informed consent” laws, particularly those that include detailed descriptions of abortion procedures or fetal development. The report claimed that the phrases “eyelids are formed,” “able to swallow,” and “sleeps and awakens” constitute a “deliberate attempt to ‘personify’ the fetus.” The report critiques a North Dakota measure for noting that the word “fetus” is Latin and means “young one or offspring,” describing the language as “loaded.” ²¹

Out of State Abortions

Guttmacher Institute claims that the number of people crossing state borders to receive abortions has more than doubled between 2020 and 2023. The institute estimated that in the first six months of 2023 more than 92,000 people have crossed state lines to receive abortion procedures and care. During the first six months of 2020, the institute recorded just over 40,000 people crossing state lines to receive abortion procedures and care. ²²

Guttmacher Institute claims Illinois saw the largest increase in out-of-state abortions. Illinois borders three states which have strict abortion bans, which resulted in 42 percent of abortions in 2023 coming from out of state. New Mexico had 72 percent of patients coming from out of state in 2023. New Mexico borders Texas and Oklahoma, which both have strict abortion bans. Although Florida bans abortions after 15 weeks and has steps required before abortion, such as a waiting period and counseling, Florida still saw an increase in abortions in 2023. Since Florida is surrounded by Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi which have stricter regulations, Guttmacher estimated that in 2023, 13 percent of abortions came from out of state. ²²

Contraception

Guttmacher maintains lists of states that restrict taxpayer funding of contraceptives, abortion-inducing drugs, and abortion-inducing devices or allow employers to exclude it from their health care plans. ²³ It has also published reports highlighting states that allow minors and dependents to consent to contraception without their parents’ or insurance holders’ approval. ^{24 25} Both reports state that dependents should not have to inform their guardians of their decision to obtain contraception.

Reproductive Health

Guttmacher catalogues access to STD and HIV testing and treatment, especially among women and minors. ²⁶ It also publishes reports criticizing pro-abstinence sex-education programs. A report on sexual risk avoidance programs claims that such programs promote “outdated perceptions of gender roles at a time when there is movement in some segments of society to examine and improve gender dynamics.” The report also attacks programs that “emphasize heterosexual relationships as the expected societal norm” even though survey research indicates over 90 percent of Americans identify as heterosexual. ^{27 28}

When it comes to reproductive health in general, the Institute places systemic factors above individual behaviors as the reason for disparate outcomes. A report on health care access among minority women says that higher unintended pregnancy rates stem from “a long history of racism.” The report also alleges that “law and order” policies and immigration enforcement constitute a threat to minority communities’ health. ²⁹

Studies

Physician Conscientious Objectors

In 2014, four Guttmacher researchers interviewed physicians in Bogotá, Colombia who expressed some degree of opposition to performing abortions. In their study, the researchers explicitly state their aim to “reduce the burden of conscientious objection as a barrier” to abortion, and call physicians who believe abortion is murder “a serious threat to women’s ability to access healthcare.” To achieve their stated goal, the researchers suggest “bringing moderate and extreme objectors together” and changing the minds of abortion opponents using their more pro-abortion colleagues’ “fellow Catholic’s perspective.” ³⁰

Birth Control Use Among Christians

In 2011, Guttmacher published a report on religious women’s attitudes towards contraception in the United States. The institute called it proof that “contraceptive use is the norm” even among Catholics and Evangelicals, whose church authorities oppose birth control and premarital sex. One of the study’s key findings states that “Only 2% of Catholic women rely on natural family planning.” This statement excludes the 58% of never-married Catholic adolescent females and 11% of never-married Catholic young adult women who practice abstinence. The report’s authors have insisted that contraception usage is ubiquitous among religious women. “In real-life America,” said lead author Rachel K. Jones, “contraceptive use and strong religious beliefs are highly compatible.” ³¹ The report, however, notes that about half of never-married women who either attend religious services every week or consider religion very important to their daily lives practice abstinence. ³²

In 2012, then-House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) claimed that 98 percent of Catholic women use contraception, referring to the number from the report. The Washington Post, New York Times, and National Public Radio all echoed the claim. Jones issued a clarification that the number referred to “sexually experienced women of child-bearing age and who identify themselves as Catholic,” not all Catholic women. ³³

Legal and Legislative Activities

Guttmacher testifies before elected officials and files amicus briefs in favor of abortion and contraception access. ³⁴

The institute supported the Obama administration in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, arguing that an employer morally opposed to contraception and abortifacients must still cover them in their insurance plan. ³⁵ The Supreme Court ruled against the administration and sided with Hobby Lobby’s opposition to the administration’s mandate. ³⁶

Financials

In 2017, Guttmacher received more than $63.2 million, a nearly $40 million increase compared to the nearly $24 million in 2016. In 2017, the institute spent just over $24.6 million and held net assets of $83.5 million. ³⁷

In 2018, Guttmacher claimed $11.2 million in total revenue. In the same year, Guttmacher received a $688,323 grant from the United States Department of Health and Human Services, meaning over 16 percent of the group’s revenue that year came directly from the federal government. The institute spent more than $28.7 million, with 80% of expenses going towards program services, and held net assets of just over $64.2 million. ^{38 39}

In 2022, Guttmacher claimed $32,979,466 in total revenue. In the same year, the group received $619,473 in government grants, but did not note which government organization(s) it received those grants from. ⁴⁰

Donor Organizations

Notable private foundation contributors to the Guttmacher Institute have included the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, which spent an estimated $4 billion on abortion and contraception advocacy from 2000 through 2018; ⁴¹ the Foundation for the Carolinas, which holds the donor-advised fund of “anti-humanist environmentalist” Fred Stanback;⁴² and other major liberal foundations including the JPB Foundation;⁴³ the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation;⁴⁴ and the Ford Foundation. ⁴⁵

In 2018, Guttmacher received over $3.1 million from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, $1.3 million from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, and $310,500 from the Society of Family Planning Research Fund. ⁴⁶